Proper Princess

Chapter Twelve

Subtle.

As Elizabeth blushed, I weighed the ball in my hands and then pulled back and threw it at the pile of tin cans. It hit the stack dead-center, and as I waved away the prize and told them to write my sister's name down as she had been the one to pay for the balls, I found myself strangely pleased to catch Lord Robert's impressed gaze as Mother hurried off to chat with Lady Morris.

Never one to be outdone, Michael stepped up to the booth next, buying three balls- and then another six when he missed the first three shots. Elizabeth turned to Eli, leaning in to quietly share her doubt of her brother hitting a single one. With everyone's attention diverted, Robert finally turned to me, speaking in a low tone. "You have an excellent arm."

I tried to fight back a vain smile at his praise. "Thank you. I used to love to play marbles and ball with my brothers- I've never been much of a Lady, I suppose. Perhaps that is why Mother is working so hard to show me off here."

Too late, I realized that was probably an embarrassing tidbit of information that I did not need to share, and I sighed. "I'm sorry. I always seem to say too much around you."

"And yet I always find myself hoping you will say more."

At that, it was impossible to keep the smile off my face. "You would be one of the first."

Michael turned then, and I quickly looked away from Robert as he was pulled into conversation, pretending to be very interested in the game booth several metres away. After examining it, though, I found that it was actually a bit interesting- the children had been released from where they had been singing, and were now wandering about, talking to each other and munching on shaved ice cones topped with thickened berry syrup- that had been Father's idea, as well, and he had done science experiments with the children, heading down to the ice house below the  school and showing them how the ice got even colder and would freeze in heat for much longer with just a bit of salt sprinkled atop it.

Several boys with shaved ice cones in hand stood before the nearby booth, laughing and hollering to one another. As I stepped closer, I realized they were throwing darts at rings hanging against a wooden backboard, trying to strike the rings just in the middle. The tallest boy of the bunch, who looked to be about twelve, was doing quite well, and the younger boys cheered him on, jumping about and whistling.

As I stepped closer to watch them, a flash of white caught my attention behind all of the booths and crowds. It was not a strange color to see- all of the schoolchildren were adorned in a blue and white school uniform- but it was so far apart from the rest of the people that I wondered if perhaps the children were conducting their own games off in the garden.

I turned to my brother to let him know that I was preparing to wander away, but he was so involved in his conversation with John that I just let it go, and instead walked off without announcement, heading for the stacks of hedges and rows of flowers that provided a bit of privacy.

There were not several children running about that garden as I would have assumed. Instead, it was just a single child sitting on the ground, leaning back against a bush. It was little Lottie- and it was  clear that she had meant to keep out of sight, unaware that there were a few holes in the hedge she was using as a form of cover.

"Hello," I greeted, coming to kneel in front of her. She did not react much to my arrival- she just pulled her knees tighter against her chest. I could make out the healing marks on her arms, and with the position she was sitting in, I could also see the fading lines that made their way down her thighs from beneath her pantylettes.

When she did not respond, I nodded slightly, making sure she could see that I was not insulted by the lack of greeting. Slowly, I lowered myself fully to the ground to sit just in front of her, not particularly caring that I may get grass stains on my husband-winning dress. "Are you alright?"